Erin Isabelle Burnett (born July 2, 1976 in Mardela Springs, Maine) is an American news anchor, currently the anchor of her own news show on CNN, Erin Burnett OutFront. She was previously the co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk on the Street program and the host of CNBC's Street Signs program. Burnett has also appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, Today, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and NBC Nightly News as well as making occasional appearances on The Celebrity Apprentice, serving as an advisor to Donald Trump. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Burnett has hosted Erin Burnett OutFront live from the border of Mali, Afghanistan, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. She’s also reported from China and Pakistan for the program. While working at NBC, Joe Scarborough dubbed Burnett "The International Superstar" for her work on a number of documentaries filmed outside of the United States. Her reporting and documentaries were filmed inside Libya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and India. In her career, she has focused extensively on reporting in the Middle East and has filed reports from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, in addition to Pakistan.
July 25, 2023: MediaIte: ‘Reptilian Humanoids?’ Erin Burnett Cannot Believe Who’s Receiving RFK Jr.’s Campaign Cash
CNN’s Erin Burnett was seemingly blown away by a report showing where the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent some of its money.
CNN’s Erin Burnett was seemingly blown away by a report showing where the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent some of its money.
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Jan 6, 2023: HuffPost: CNN Anchor Calls Out GOP Rep. For Sexist, Patronizing Remark
"That, I will say, in my opinion, was a bit rude," Erin Burnett told Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas. Jan 5, 2023: MediaIte: House Republican Calls Erin Burnett ‘Young Lady,’ and CNN the ‘Clinton News Network’ While Defending McCarthy
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) called CNN host Erin Burnett a “young lady” and referred to her network as the “Clinton News Network” during a Thursday evening interview Mar 8, 2017: USA Today: How I became a news anchor: Erin Burnett of CNN
CNN's Erin Burnett has had quite the career. The prime-time newscaster graduated from Williams College with a political economy degree, spending the first part of her career as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs before taking the leap to pursue a career in media. June 11, 2015: News Busters: CNN's Burnett Presses Santorum About Kirk's 'Ho' Quip, Caitlyn Jenner
Erin Burnett interviewed Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum in a taped sit-down chat earlier today. But rather than sticking purely to substantial issues, the CNN anchor also posed two rather trivial queries, one about a hot microphone comment Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) made about fellow Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) being a "bro without a ho," and another regarding if Rick Santorum approves of Bruce Jenner's newfound lifestyle as Caitlyn, a transgendered woman. Mar 17, 2015: Breitbart: Bitterly Disappointed CNN Downplays Netanyahu’s Likely Upset
At around 7:10 pm, Burnett finally decided it was time to talk about the Israeli elections, and when she did she read a chyron that read, “Is Netanyahu About to Lose?” Not “Too Close to Call.” Not “Bibi Upset Victory?” Nope. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, CNN stuck to its “about to lose” narrative. Dec 30, 2014: FTV Live: The 8 Best and Worst People in TV News in 2014 - No. 5
Burnett is a good interviewer that asks the same questions that viewers are thinking about. Her style is very conversational and she rarely drones on too long on any one topic. Sept 19, 2014: MediaIte: CNN’s Erin Burnett Just Compared U.S. to Tolkien’s Evil Eye of Sauron
During a serious discussion about intelligence on ISIS during CNN’s Erin Burnett Out Front Friday evening, host Erin Burnett decided to employ an unusual metaphor to make a point about U.S. “priorities.” July 25, 2014: MediaIte: CNN’s Erin Burnett Fact-Checks Israeli Ambassador’s Criticisms of CNN
Last night on CNN, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, called out the network for what he believed to be incredibly misleading coverage of the current crisis in Gaza. Well, tonight, Erin Burnett followed up that conversation with a fact-check of Dermer’s comments and a discussion over whether he had a point about their coverage. June 24, 2014: News Busters: 'Hardball' Ignores Bill Clinton's 'Dead Broke' Defense; CNN's 'OutFront' Makes Light of Spin
By contrast, the competition over at CNN on Erin Burnett OutFront featured a panel discussion in which the participants made light of Mr. Clinton's defense of his consort and forecast that Bill Clinton might end up being a net negative for his wife on the campaign trail, as he was in the 2008 primaries. June 18, 2014: Conservative50Plus: Ted Cruz Schools CNN’s Erin Burnett on Benghazi.
June 17, 2014: Huffington Post: CNN's Erin Burnett Confronts Paul Bremer Over His Iraq Failures
Paul Bremer, the former envoy to Iraq, has been among the more prominent architects of the Iraq War to suddenly reemerge all over the nation's televisions in the wake of that country's current crisis. On Monday night, he received one of his tougher grillings about his actions during the war from CNN's Erin Burnett. May 17, 2014: Vision To America: CNN Host: Benghazi Has 'Become Like Abortion'
CNN's Erin Burnett moderated a debate between RNC spokesman Sean Spicer and Media Matters for America's David Brock over the issue Benghazi. Brock accused claimed Republicans of politicizing and raising money on the issue: "Republicans look at (Benghazi) and see a political opportunity Feb 24, 2014: The Blaze: Watch: Ted Nugent Annoys CNN Host by Taking Credit for Getting Piers Morgan’s ‘A** Thrown Out’, Blasting Her Colleagues
Conservative rocker and NRA board member Ted Nugent took some credit for getting Piers Morgan’s CNN show cancelled during an interview with one of the network’s other anchors, Erin Burnett. His comments came after Burnett asked him if his apology for calling President Barack Obama a “sub-human mongrel” was sincere. Apr 23, 2013: We Are Change: Erin Burnett Questioned on Boston Bombing Drills
Luke Rudkowski asks CNN’s Erin Burnett about the recent Boston bombing and the reports from people saying they were told by authorities about a bombing drill at the marathon. Apr 23, 2013: Fair: Erin Burnett Wants a Different Kind of Terrorism Suspect
"But people are going to ask the question of whether terror has changed. An enemy combatant, according to the government, as you well know, is a person who planned, authorized committed or aided the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. And a person who was a part of or substantially supported al Qaeda or the Taliban. Now that worked back when the combat was related to 9/11. But if it has indeed spread, and you all of a sudden have extremist groups, whether inspired in Chechnya or somewhere else that are killing American civilians and it's done by Americans, isn't it the term that needs to change rather than us say the person doesn't fit the term?" Apr 12, 2013: Media Matters: Erin Burnett Latest In Media To Push Claim That "The Left" Ignored Gosnell Trial After She Ignored Gosnell Trial
CNN's Erin Burnett suggested that media "on the left" may have failed to cover the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell for political reasons -- even though Burnett herself had never previously covered Gosnell's story. Mar 22, 2013: Red Alert Politics: [WATCH] Erin Burnett accidentally calls Harry Reid ‘Harry Rude’ “Today Vice-President Joe Biden stood firm in favor of an assault weapons ban just hours before Senate Majority Leader Harry Rude,” she said before quickly correcting herself. |
Aug 11, 2007: Crooks & Liars: CNBC's Erin Burnett: We Need China's Toxic Food And Lead Coated Toys To Keep Economy Strong
"A lot of people like to say, uh, scaremonger about China, right? A lot of politicians, and I know you talk about that issue all the time. I think people should be careful what they wish for on China. Ya know, if China were to revalue it's currency or China is to start making say, toys that don't have lead in them or food that isn't poisonous, their costs of production are going to go up and that means prices at Wal-Mart here in the United States are going to go up too. So, I would say China is our greatest friend right now, they're keeping prices low and they're keeping the prices for mortgages low, too." December 21, 2012: Burnett married to David Thomas Rubulotta.
ON THE RECORD: Feb 25, 2014: John Carney (Business Insider) reports "Maria Bartiromo Won't Let Erin Burnett Forget She Called George Bush A Monkey." "Today on Morning Joe, Maria Bartiromo was brought into a discussion about whether or not opposition to Barack Obama is motivated by racial animus. When one guest said that he had never heard George Bush called "an arrogant white boy" in public, Bartiromo immediately jumped in by bringing up Erin Burnett's famous gaffe calling George Bush a monkey. "Actually, didn't Erin Burnett call George Bush, when he was a sitting president, a monkey? On this program," Bartiromo said." This is an interesting revelation in light of the interview Burnett did with Ted Nugent tonight where she was trying to get Ted Nugent into some kind of a "gotcha" moment over his recent comments. Having viewed the clip with Joe Scarborough this morning, Michael Eric Dyson seems to be hanging out with Al Sharpton too much as he attempts to make pretty much everything a symbol of racism. If he really believes what he says then its no wonder he thinks the whole country is racist (except him and, I suppose, Al). Rational thinking people know better, though. Both clips are available here: "Erin Burnett's Selective Double Standard on Name Calling"
Aug 22nd, 2022
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Mar 22, 2013: Breitbart: Piers Morgan, Erin Burnett Crash CNN Primetime Ratings
Erin Burnett is also a disaster in that demo
Mar 20, 2013: MediaIte: Washington State ‘Pot Czar’ On CNN Clearly Unamused By Erin Burnett’s Questions
The man chosen to help Washington state implement its marijuana legalization policy appeared on CNN’s OutFront last night, and he was not amused by host Erin Burnett‘s line of questioning, dismissing her characterization of pot activists and, at one point, outright telling her: “That’s probably the wrong way to ask the question.”
Erin Burnett is also a disaster in that demo
Mar 20, 2013: MediaIte: Washington State ‘Pot Czar’ On CNN Clearly Unamused By Erin Burnett’s Questions
The man chosen to help Washington state implement its marijuana legalization policy appeared on CNN’s OutFront last night, and he was not amused by host Erin Burnett‘s line of questioning, dismissing her characterization of pot activists and, at one point, outright telling her: “That’s probably the wrong way to ask the question.”
Mar 20, 2013: News Busters: Glenn Beck, CNN's Erin Burnett Clash Over 'Devil' Character in 'Bible' Miniseries
CNN's Erin Burnett accused the “right-wing radio host” of having an “ugly history” of demeaning the Democratic occupant of the White House by calling him “That Guy,” “Satan” or “the Antichrist.”
Mar 20, 2013: Glenn Beck: CNN’s Erin Burnett destroys her last shred of credibility with blatant smear of Glenn Beck
no one went further into the gutter with their attacks than CNN host Erin Burnett, who used the tweet to smear Glenn by selectively editing years old footage and comparing Glenn to a genocidal, anti-Semitic dictator
Mar 14, 2013: Right Sphere: I Agree with Erin Burnett About the Catholic Church
Many people I know who were raised Catholic no longer attend Mass and many aren’t raising their children Catholic, either.
CNN's Erin Burnett accused the “right-wing radio host” of having an “ugly history” of demeaning the Democratic occupant of the White House by calling him “That Guy,” “Satan” or “the Antichrist.”
Mar 20, 2013: Glenn Beck: CNN’s Erin Burnett destroys her last shred of credibility with blatant smear of Glenn Beck
no one went further into the gutter with their attacks than CNN host Erin Burnett, who used the tweet to smear Glenn by selectively editing years old footage and comparing Glenn to a genocidal, anti-Semitic dictator
Mar 14, 2013: Right Sphere: I Agree with Erin Burnett About the Catholic Church
Many people I know who were raised Catholic no longer attend Mass and many aren’t raising their children Catholic, either.
Mar 12, 2013: Breitbart: CNN's Burnett To Laura Bush: Should America Accept Anti-Semitism?
You have to support people that do those things - financially in term of awards, in terms of all these things - because it pays off in the end? Is that a trade-off we have to make?
Mar 4, 2013: Radar Online: CNN Diva Alert! Erin Burnett Playing Too Hard To Get By Calling All The Shots, Jeff Zucker Looking For Other Options
Erin Burnett was officially offered the CNN morning anchor spot, but she decided to change the deal midstream after shaking hands, leaving everyone — including newly appointed president, Jeff Zucker — uneasy about where mornings stand for the struggling network, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting
Mar 1, 2013: New York Post: Mornings not for Erin Burnett, demanding sizable buy out
It seems Burnett is digging in her high heels and refusing the new morning assignment. She has a clause in her contract that requires CNN to air her show in prime time.
Jan 29, 2013: Real Clear Politics: CNN's Erin Burnett On Obama's Skeet Shooting Claim: "Prove It"
So, you're going to say you do it all the time, don't you kind of have to prove it?
Jan 29, 2013: Deadline: Jeff Zucker Moving Erin Burnett To Host New CNN Morning Show With Chris Cuomo
The chess pieces are certainly in play at CNN today. Managing editor Mark Whitaker is out, 20/20’s Chris Cuomo has been poached from ABC and now sources are telling Deadline that new CNN boss Jeff Zucker is about to move Erin Burnett from primetime to a new morning show.
Jan 28, 2013: BuzzFeed: CNN's Erin Burnett Tweets Her Hookah Stash
The Out Front host mourned Turkey's ban on public hookah smoking with a Tweet of her water pipe for the fans.
Jan 7, 2013: MediaIte: Friday Ratings: Erin Burnett Wins The Night On CNN In Total Viewers
Racking up 609k total viewers, Burnett beat out her network’s next-best rated show in The Situation Room, which garnered 546k viewers.
Dec 22, 2012: Inquistr: CNN Anchor Erin Burnett Gets Married At New York City Hall
CNN achor Erin Burnett got hitched to longtime boyfriend David Rubulotta, a Citigroup executive, yesterday in a low-key City Hall ceremony.
Dec 21, 2012: New York Post: Smart OutFront
Perhaps prepping for changes under Jeff Zucker at CNN, we hear anchor Erin Burnett’s instituted a dress code on her program, “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
Dec 2, 2012: MediaIte: Cenk Uygur Says Erin Burnett And CNN ‘Guarding The Fortress’ By Abetting Gutting Of Medicare
On Friday night’s edition of The Young Turks, host Cenk Uygur took aim at one of his favorite targets, CNN’s Erin Burnett, but in a more measured way than usual
Nov 28, 2012: The Dissenter: Julian Assange Refuses to Submit to Erin Burnett’s Planned Hit Job
Erin Burnett did not get the segment she wanted except if you go to CNN Video where they are featuring a part of the segment that makes it seem like all Assange was asked to do was come on and talk Ecuador and refused to cooperate with Burnett.
Oct 5, 2012: MediaIte: Erin Burnett Takes Obama Deputy Campaign Manager To Task Over $5 Trillion Tax Cut Claim
On Thursday night, Erin Burnett challenged Stephanie Cutter, the Obama campaign’s deputy manager, about a claim the campaign has long been making: That Mitt Romney is proposing a $5 trillion tax cut, not specifying how exactly he’d pay for it.
Sept 22, 2012: MediaIte: Erin Burnett Responds To Rob Lowe, Blogs’ Claims That She’s Biased
On Friday, CNN OutFront host Erin Burnett responded to recent claims by a couple of blogs — and actor Rob Lowe — that she has a political bias… favoring both sides of the aisle.
Aug 31, 2012: Huffington Post: CNN's Erin Burnett Makes Misleading Claims About Federal Reserve
CNN anchor Erin Burnett claimed Friday that the Federal Reserve is spending money wastefully, but that's not exactly true.
May 9, 2012: TV Newser: How’s Erin Burnett Doing Almost 8 Months in on ‘OutFront?’
Burnett peaked in her second month drawing 510K Total Viewers and 140K A25-54 viewers in November 2011.
Sept 28, 2011: Wall Street Journal: CNN’s Erin Burnett needs your respect
Now Burnett, who left the business-news channel a few months ago, is determined to come across as a more serious and refined cable news presence on her new 7 p.m. CNN (US:TWX) show, “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
May 6, 2011: Business Insider: WATCH: Mark Haines' Teary Goodbye To Erin Burnett
The soon-to-be CNN anchor couldn't hide her emotions as well as she began to tear up and wasn't able to say much.
Apr 29, 2011: Deadline: CNBC’s Erin Burnett Moving To CNN
CNN announced Friday that it has hired CNBC’s Erin Burnett to anchor a weekday general news program and be the network’s chief business correspondent.
You have to support people that do those things - financially in term of awards, in terms of all these things - because it pays off in the end? Is that a trade-off we have to make?
Mar 4, 2013: Radar Online: CNN Diva Alert! Erin Burnett Playing Too Hard To Get By Calling All The Shots, Jeff Zucker Looking For Other Options
Erin Burnett was officially offered the CNN morning anchor spot, but she decided to change the deal midstream after shaking hands, leaving everyone — including newly appointed president, Jeff Zucker — uneasy about where mornings stand for the struggling network, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting
Mar 1, 2013: New York Post: Mornings not for Erin Burnett, demanding sizable buy out
It seems Burnett is digging in her high heels and refusing the new morning assignment. She has a clause in her contract that requires CNN to air her show in prime time.
Jan 29, 2013: Real Clear Politics: CNN's Erin Burnett On Obama's Skeet Shooting Claim: "Prove It"
So, you're going to say you do it all the time, don't you kind of have to prove it?
Jan 29, 2013: Deadline: Jeff Zucker Moving Erin Burnett To Host New CNN Morning Show With Chris Cuomo
The chess pieces are certainly in play at CNN today. Managing editor Mark Whitaker is out, 20/20’s Chris Cuomo has been poached from ABC and now sources are telling Deadline that new CNN boss Jeff Zucker is about to move Erin Burnett from primetime to a new morning show.
Jan 28, 2013: BuzzFeed: CNN's Erin Burnett Tweets Her Hookah Stash
The Out Front host mourned Turkey's ban on public hookah smoking with a Tweet of her water pipe for the fans.
Jan 7, 2013: MediaIte: Friday Ratings: Erin Burnett Wins The Night On CNN In Total Viewers
Racking up 609k total viewers, Burnett beat out her network’s next-best rated show in The Situation Room, which garnered 546k viewers.
Dec 22, 2012: Inquistr: CNN Anchor Erin Burnett Gets Married At New York City Hall
CNN achor Erin Burnett got hitched to longtime boyfriend David Rubulotta, a Citigroup executive, yesterday in a low-key City Hall ceremony.
Dec 21, 2012: New York Post: Smart OutFront
Perhaps prepping for changes under Jeff Zucker at CNN, we hear anchor Erin Burnett’s instituted a dress code on her program, “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
Dec 2, 2012: MediaIte: Cenk Uygur Says Erin Burnett And CNN ‘Guarding The Fortress’ By Abetting Gutting Of Medicare
On Friday night’s edition of The Young Turks, host Cenk Uygur took aim at one of his favorite targets, CNN’s Erin Burnett, but in a more measured way than usual
Nov 28, 2012: The Dissenter: Julian Assange Refuses to Submit to Erin Burnett’s Planned Hit Job
Erin Burnett did not get the segment she wanted except if you go to CNN Video where they are featuring a part of the segment that makes it seem like all Assange was asked to do was come on and talk Ecuador and refused to cooperate with Burnett.
Oct 5, 2012: MediaIte: Erin Burnett Takes Obama Deputy Campaign Manager To Task Over $5 Trillion Tax Cut Claim
On Thursday night, Erin Burnett challenged Stephanie Cutter, the Obama campaign’s deputy manager, about a claim the campaign has long been making: That Mitt Romney is proposing a $5 trillion tax cut, not specifying how exactly he’d pay for it.
Sept 22, 2012: MediaIte: Erin Burnett Responds To Rob Lowe, Blogs’ Claims That She’s Biased
On Friday, CNN OutFront host Erin Burnett responded to recent claims by a couple of blogs — and actor Rob Lowe — that she has a political bias… favoring both sides of the aisle.
Aug 31, 2012: Huffington Post: CNN's Erin Burnett Makes Misleading Claims About Federal Reserve
CNN anchor Erin Burnett claimed Friday that the Federal Reserve is spending money wastefully, but that's not exactly true.
May 9, 2012: TV Newser: How’s Erin Burnett Doing Almost 8 Months in on ‘OutFront?’
Burnett peaked in her second month drawing 510K Total Viewers and 140K A25-54 viewers in November 2011.
Sept 28, 2011: Wall Street Journal: CNN’s Erin Burnett needs your respect
Now Burnett, who left the business-news channel a few months ago, is determined to come across as a more serious and refined cable news presence on her new 7 p.m. CNN (US:TWX) show, “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
May 6, 2011: Business Insider: WATCH: Mark Haines' Teary Goodbye To Erin Burnett
The soon-to-be CNN anchor couldn't hide her emotions as well as she began to tear up and wasn't able to say much.
Apr 29, 2011: Deadline: CNBC’s Erin Burnett Moving To CNN
CNN announced Friday that it has hired CNBC’s Erin Burnett to anchor a weekday general news program and be the network’s chief business correspondent.
Feb 2, 2009: Huffington Post: NBC Has an Erin Burnett Problem
Indeed, NBC has an Erin Burnett problem. Watch and see for yourself how Burnett consistently serves as an apologist for Wall Street's worst practices: NBC even (accidentally?) admitted Burnett's pro-Wall Street bias. Just look at the headline they put up after the show, summarizing her main message: "Erin Burnett: We must help banks." Really? Burnett got warmed up by talking about how the public is completely confused when we're worried how bailout recipients are spending our money: It is amazing, when you listen to so much of the commentary out there, that it focuses on bonuses or private jet use or, or also just that they're not lending. None of these things, really, are, are the real issue here...it isn't choosing Main Street vs. Wall Street. That is a completely false choice that is being put out there.
Her "embed" status was on full display when Claire McCaskill's comments about Wall Street bonuses came up. Notice how dismissive Burnett is of populism (aka, politicians speaking to the will of the people -- that quaint and silly notion):
SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL (D-MO): They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses. What planet are these people on?
(End videotape)
MR. GREGORY: Fair question, Erin?
MS. BURNETT: I understand the outrage, and you understand the populism. There are, though--well, how should we say this? The taxpayer money is not being used to pay the bonuses. I think people could understand if you work for a company--right? If the three us worked for a company, your guests, and I lost $10 billion but Steve [Forbes] over there, he made a billion dollars. So overall the company actually loses money, but Steve went and did his very darndest for that company and he made money. So should he be paid for his work? That's essentially what we're talking about here. And reasonable people could argue about this, but many reasonable people would conclude, yes, he should be paid for that. And I think, David, you've raised a fair point, which is maybe it's the whole use of the word "bonus."
MR. GREGORY: Mm-hmm.
MS. BURNETT: If you explained to people this is how they are compensated, that might make a difference. But there is also a fundamental misunderstanding. The taxpayer money isn't being taken and paid out in the form of bonuses. It goes in a, a separate pool, shall we say, a separate account for banks. So maybe people don't care about that distinction, but it is there.I've worked with a lot of reporters, and most of them are very nice people. I'm sure Burnett is pleasant as well. But what she's doing here professionally is a real problem, and it's NBC's problem at the end of the day. The public simply can't afford to have economic news given to us by Wall Street "embeds."
We need Burnett to listen to her Wall Street sources, be skeptical of them, ask them very tough and sometimes uncomfortable questions, and be willing to report negatively on them when they abuse the public trust. If they never talk to her again, so be it. Donald Rumsfeld won't talk to some reporters either -- and where is he today? Disgraced in history.
Indeed, NBC has an Erin Burnett problem. Watch and see for yourself how Burnett consistently serves as an apologist for Wall Street's worst practices: NBC even (accidentally?) admitted Burnett's pro-Wall Street bias. Just look at the headline they put up after the show, summarizing her main message: "Erin Burnett: We must help banks." Really? Burnett got warmed up by talking about how the public is completely confused when we're worried how bailout recipients are spending our money: It is amazing, when you listen to so much of the commentary out there, that it focuses on bonuses or private jet use or, or also just that they're not lending. None of these things, really, are, are the real issue here...it isn't choosing Main Street vs. Wall Street. That is a completely false choice that is being put out there.
Her "embed" status was on full display when Claire McCaskill's comments about Wall Street bonuses came up. Notice how dismissive Burnett is of populism (aka, politicians speaking to the will of the people -- that quaint and silly notion):
SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL (D-MO): They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses. What planet are these people on?
(End videotape)
MR. GREGORY: Fair question, Erin?
MS. BURNETT: I understand the outrage, and you understand the populism. There are, though--well, how should we say this? The taxpayer money is not being used to pay the bonuses. I think people could understand if you work for a company--right? If the three us worked for a company, your guests, and I lost $10 billion but Steve [Forbes] over there, he made a billion dollars. So overall the company actually loses money, but Steve went and did his very darndest for that company and he made money. So should he be paid for his work? That's essentially what we're talking about here. And reasonable people could argue about this, but many reasonable people would conclude, yes, he should be paid for that. And I think, David, you've raised a fair point, which is maybe it's the whole use of the word "bonus."
MR. GREGORY: Mm-hmm.
MS. BURNETT: If you explained to people this is how they are compensated, that might make a difference. But there is also a fundamental misunderstanding. The taxpayer money isn't being taken and paid out in the form of bonuses. It goes in a, a separate pool, shall we say, a separate account for banks. So maybe people don't care about that distinction, but it is there.I've worked with a lot of reporters, and most of them are very nice people. I'm sure Burnett is pleasant as well. But what she's doing here professionally is a real problem, and it's NBC's problem at the end of the day. The public simply can't afford to have economic news given to us by Wall Street "embeds."
We need Burnett to listen to her Wall Street sources, be skeptical of them, ask them very tough and sometimes uncomfortable questions, and be willing to report negatively on them when they abuse the public trust. If they never talk to her again, so be it. Donald Rumsfeld won't talk to some reporters either -- and where is he today? Disgraced in history.
